God's Plan For Man Final
astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. Th i s i s why he has t o o f f e r sa c r i f i c e s f o r h i s own s i ns , as we l l as f o r t he s i ns o f t he pe op l e” “No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Chr i s t a l s o d i d no t t ake upon h ims e l f t he g l o r y o f be c omi ng a h i gh pr i e s t . Bu t God sa i d t o h im, ‘You ar e my Son ; t oday I hav e be c ome y our Fa t he r . ’ And he says in another place, ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’” (Hebrews 4:12-14, 5:1-6) Jesus was not selected from among men; men rejected Him. Jesus did not take upon Himself the glory of being a high priest, He glorified the Father by completing the mission and becoming one with the Father. Consider and question this carefully: Jesus does have to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of people. For this is what is said in the Hebrew epistle by Paul, and thought to be true by the theologies of most people today. So, you may see that this applies to a mere man, not Jesus. Jesus descended from the heavens, but is now the Father; He is God. Mere man offers self-sacrifices for those who are ignorant, and for people in conflict. God said to him [lower case], “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” This is not a worldly appointment or ordination by the hands of men, but an appointment and ordination from God the Father. Therefore, it is true: “The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep .” (John 10: 2:3 ) He who is anointed enters through the sheep gate—not the gate for those who consider themselves privileged or ordained in the worldly ways. “Fo r we ar e t o God t he ar oma o f Chr i s t among t ho s e who ar e be i ng sav ed and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death, to the other, the fragrance of life . And who is equal to such a task? Un l ike s o many , we do no t pedd l e t he wo rd o f God f o r pr o f i t . On the contrary, i n Chr i s t we speak be f o r e God wi t h s i nc e r i t y , l ike men s en t f r om God . ” (2 Corinthians 2:15-17) “ In r ead i ng t h i s , t hen , y ou wi l l be ab l e t o unde r s t and my i ns i gh t i n t o t he my s t e r y o f Chr i s t , which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy Apostles and prophets. Th i s my s t e r y i s t ha t t hr ough t he g o spe l t he Gen t i l e s ar e he i r s t o g e t he r wi t h I s rae l , members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make
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